How Silicon Valley, Topeka joined forces for a downtown tech incubator in Top City capital
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. TOPEKA — A new incubator is expected to help homegrown tech idealists tu... Read more
How an east side community garden gives Ruby Jean’s namesake her storybook ending as juice brand goes national with Whole Foods
While market expansion for Ruby Jean’s harvests the big headlines, Chris Goode’s grassroots health initiatives are staying firmly planted in Kansas City’s east side, the juice brand’s founder said — announcing plans to launch a one-acre communit... Read more
Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Serial entrepreneur and three-peat exited founder Matt Watson is the host of Product Driven and co-founder of Full Scale, a global staffing company. Click here... Read more
For the fourth consecutive summer, ProX — one of the largest paid internship programs in the country — is giving Kansas City-area employers the opportunity to invest in the region’s future talent, Solissa Franco-McKay shared. The collaborative P... Read more
Superstars pack KC Chamber celebration with gratitude; thankful for a space to belong when many feel lost
Julie Cortes beamed as she took in the energy of Kansas City’s small business community Tuesday evening — surrounded by hundreds of her fellow Small Business Superstars and a crowd eager to build an emerging spirit of entrepreneurship. “It feels... Read more
Editor’s note: The following story was published by Silicon Prairie News, an Omaha-based publication of the Nebraska Journalism Trust. Click here to read the original article or here to subscribe to SPN’s newsletter. Following its expansio... Read more
Why keep Betty Rae’s from the world? KC ice cream shop franchising brand across region
Matt Shatto wants to “create smiles across the country” — not just in the metro. His plan: scoop a pint of franchising into the handcrafted mix for Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, a shop that developed into multiple must-visit Kansas City destinations ov... Read more
Blackhole Bakery plans bodega-style expansion for second location: a West Plaza ‘blank canvas’
During his five years operating on Troost, Jason Provo said real estate agents often approached him, asking, “When are you going to leave and get a big boy spot in Leawood?” Now the owner of beloved Blackhole Bakery is planning his second locati... Read more
Ixtapa closes JoCo favorite; owner says he won’t compromise family recipes or up prices as food, rent costs rise
Ixtapa Fine Mexican Cuisine has closed in Johnson County after five years. Co-owner Victor Esqueda blamed rising costs — rent, ingredients and more — for the closing of the restaurant at 7305 W. 95th St. in Overland Park, near the sprawling Sham... Read more
Coffee cluster percolating on one Troost block; will business support the buzz of six spaces to sip?
A new stretch of coffee shops in the 5500 block of Troost will test the caffeine tolerance of folks seeking a fix. Six options soon fill out the menu along this bustling corridor. Blackhole Bakery, High Hopes Ice Cream and The Littlest Bake Shop... Read more